Fr. Loren Nys – Diocese of Buffalo

| Oct 23, 2019 | Abuser Profiles, Catholic Church

Father Loren Nys (Salvatorians)

Diocese of Buffalo

Born: 1938

Ordained: June 3, 1967

Removed: 2014

Assigned as follows:

  • Saints Peter and Paul Parish (Kiel, WI)
  • St. Mary (Lancaster, NY)

Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Loren Nys:

Father Loren Nys was a member of the Milwaukee-based Society of the Divine Savior, the Salvatorians. According to media reports, in 2014, he was removed as pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish after a review of his personnel files revealed two letters from parents accusing him of “inappropriate conduct with youth.” The letters dated back to the 1960s and early 1970s. The issues were addressed at the time but Father Nys was kept in ministry. He moved to Milwaukee to live with the Order’s retired priests under supervision.

In December 2016, a man told the Diocese of Buffalo that Father Nys abused him for two years in the early 1970s, beginning when the man was age 14 at  St. Mary’s High School, where Father Nys was a teacher and administrator. The man said he lived in the rectory due to family issues. One night, while he was in the shower, the priest came into the stall naked and began touching him.  “It still makes me sick,” the man said. “I remember thinking there must be something wrong with me.”  The abuse continued as Father Nys repeatedly raped him in the shower and a bedroom.

The man said, “He’d say, if I told, no one would ever believe me, and then I wouldn’t have a place to live.”

He reported the abuse to the Diocese of Buffalo in 2016, and was told the complaint was forwarded to officials of the Salvatorian order in Milwaukee. A diocesan official told him he was not eligible for compensation because Father Nys was from a religious order.

In November 2018, Father Nys’ name was included in the Diocese of Buffalo’s updated list of priests with substantiated claims of sexual abuse of a minor. The original list was published in March 2018 and includes priests only if they have more than one allegation.

Loren Nys died on December 26, 2021 at age 83 in Milwaukee.

Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo and throughout New York. The Diocese of Buffalo filed for federal bankruptcy protection in February 2020. Anyone sexually abused by a priest or employee of the Diocese of Buffalo may be entitled to file a claim against the Diocese in these bankruptcy proceedings, but very strict filing deadlines apply. Most victims of abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo will never be able to take action against the Diocese of Buffalo if they miss this bankruptcy filing deadline, so it is important that you contact us immediately to discuss your potential case.

Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your legal options today.